


Armies of Your Heart

by Raine_Wynd



Series: Nick's Troubles [4]
Category: Highlander: The Raven, Highlander: The Series
Genre: Anal Sex, Angst, Domesticity, Established Relationship, Explicit Sexual Content, Falling In Love, Friends to Lovers, Friendship/Love, Heartbreak, K'Immie, M/M, Moving On, Multi, Oral Sex, Past Relationships, Quickening, Threesome
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-08-17
Updated: 2013-08-21
Packaged: 2017-12-23 18:49:02
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 11
Words: 16,258
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/929859
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Raine_Wynd/pseuds/Raine_Wynd
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>"Ever's a long time, boyo," Cory said to Rich - but when Cory plans to change that, he's not the only one who's surprised.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks to Sam for the alpha read.

_December 2013_

The sensation of an immortal approaching made Cory pause as he started to hand Nick the books he wanted to shelve in their new house. Recognizing the look, Nick asked, “Problem?” Nick felt the immortal as well a second later, noting the deep bass note of someone either old or experienced or both.

“Not sure.”

Both heard the distinctive roar of a motorcycle and looked at each other. “Well, Rich did say he was going to ride down to see us,” Nick noted. “I just figured he’d avoid helping us unpack - in which case, he’s got great timing.”

“You really think he’d get out of work like that? He’s usually good about helping friends,” Cory asked, setting the books aside.

“Yes, because he swore he’d never help me pack or unpack my books again,” Nick said with a chuckle.

Grabbing a leather jacket from the rack above an entryway bench, Cory donned it and stepped out onto the wide porch to see the familiar sight of his friend and sometime partner in crime dismounting from his BMW 1200RS motorcycle. Rich pulled his black, full-face helmet off, revealing his short-cropped red hair. He unhooked a duffel bag from the pillion seat, then unlocked a side bag and pulled out a bottle of whiskey.

“Nice house, better than the pictures Nick sent,” Rich said admiringly as he jogged up the steps to where Cory stood and handed him the liquor. “Congrats,” he said. “How old is this place again?”

“Built in 1901,” Cory told him.

“Man, Nick was saying you scored a keeper, but I wasn’t sure what to expect. Too often, the real estate pics only show you the best side. This is gorgeous. How much square footage?”

“A little over 3,700, and the lot’s almost twice that,” Cory told him, ushering him inside. “You can set your stuff down on the bench there. Everything’s set up around the central core, so as you can see, it’s a circular floor plan. And if you continue to stare at everything like you’re some kind of carpenter, I’m going to break down and ask if you’ve ever renovated anything.”

“Helped Mac renovate a house for his girlfriend. By the time we were done with it, they weren’t together anymore, but he gave it to her anyway. At the time, I thought he was crazy for doing it, but now I’m older, I understand it better. Was a ton of work, too - about the same size as this place, and in far worse shape when we started it.” Rich stepped into the grand foyer and stopped, seeing the pile of boxes just outside a room Rich suspected had been designated the library. “Nick, did you move every book you own?”

“This is the last of it, and not all of it is mine,” Nick defended himself as he set his sword aside. “Or are you really going to help us unpack?”

“Hey, you’re down to the books. That means I missed out on 90% of it,” Rich said, gesturing to the fact that all the rooms he could see were furnished, and some of the shared knickknacks were on display. “So, do I get the grand tour or are you going to put me on book shelving duty right away?” Rich shed his motorcycle jacket and a separate liner and laid both on top of his duffel bag. He kept on a fleece-lined hoodie, but unzipped it partway out of deference to the heat he could feel in the house.

“Depends,” Nick said, glancing at Cory. “It’s the second Saturday of the month. You usually work today.”

“Mac finally accepted that his grand plan to be my teacher again was doomed to failure, so he decided to contribute to my operating fund instead.” Rich flashed a smile. “Joe finally promoted someone to assistant manager and hired extra staff, so I could go south like I’d planned initially.”

Nick studied him, not liking the way Rich didn’t look directly at him or Cory. “What about Jamal?”

“Oh, he’s fine,” Rich said breezily as he shed his hoodie, but both men had known him too long to be fooled.

“Really, Rich? You’re gonna try that on us?” Nick demanded.

“Leave it,” Rich snapped. “I swear, Nick, sometimes you’re like a dog with a bone and I’m not in the mood.”

Nick raised his hands. “Fine. But you know I worry.”

Rich chuckled roughly. “So you can fret about the fact it’s nearly freezing out there. Any chance I can get some coffee? My outsides may be warm but my insides aren’t.”

“Pot by the stove should be warm; there are mugs in the cabinet right above it,” Cory told him. “Help yourself and I’ll give you the nickel tour.”

As Rich went to get coffee, Cory went to kiss Nick reassuringly. “It’s okay, he’s here with us. If he didn’t want company, he’d have kept going to Mexico.”

Nick sighed. “It’s a start,” he agreed.


	2. Chapter 2

Rich loved his friends’ new house, which reflected a mix of turn-of-the-century Dutch Colonial style architecture with modern upgrades. He’d heard about how Nick and Cory had settled in Portland, Oregon, and how Cory had surprised Nick by the choice of house. Rich had been amused to witness the discussions, as he and Nick preferred Skype for their long-distance communications. Nick hadn’t paid close attention to Cory’s house in Alexandria, which, while not a hundred-year-old mansion, was still one with character and heritage. Rich had spent a good part of three years using the Alexandria house as home base. He knew that any house Cory chose would have hardwood floors, an attached garage, be on a corner lot, and have a fenced yard large enough in which to practice sword training.

Cory had given him the tour as promised. The library, which was just off the foyer as Rich suspected, had built-in bookshelves, already more than half-full of books, and a marble fireplace in one corner. A half bath sat off the kitchen on the first floor, and shared space with a full-size washer and dryer. The formal dining room had French doors and a grand table that sat six. The living room, which sat in the back corner of the house, was open to the kitchen. The kitchen had been upgraded to include a newer but vintage-styled gourmet range and a center island with breakfast bar. The entire house was covered with hardwood floors except in the bathrooms, which had vintage tile.

Rich wasn’t surprised to see that one of the three bedrooms on the second floor had been turned into a home office. Cory spent a lot of time researching which charities would benefit from his wealth redistribution efforts. Nick was vice president-at-large for a security-consulting firm, though the current plan was that he and Cory were going to officially locate Cory’s charitable foundation in Portland and run it together. Silently, Rich hoped they would want his help; Seacouver no longer felt like home. A small bathroom was next to the home office and had a shower but no tub. The other two bedrooms were on opposite sides of the hallway from one another, but the one with the front-facing view was clearly in the progress of being set up as the media room; the one with the rear-facing view held a queen-size bed and had its own full bath.

The master bedroom took up most of the third floor; the rest was storage. Skylights and windows gave the master bedroom an airy, open feel, along with a territorial view. The attached bathroom suite featured a claw foot tub big enough for two. The king size bed had been shoved against the center support pillar, directly under the skylights, with the foot of the bed facing the windows. Small nightstands sat on either side of the bed. Built-in bookcases lined the walls underneath the windows. An armless sofa and a small table took up the space opposite the bed, in front of the L-shaped closet and the lone window on that side of the room.

“I like it better than your place in Alexandria,” Rich told Cory. “You didn’t have nearly as much space to sprawl and it’s really private up here.”

Cory grinned. “Shocked Nick at the price tag, though. He was laboring under the impression I never spent money on myself. Wonder who gave him that idea?”

Rich returned the grin. “You’re the one who put your number on his cell phone under ‘Robin Hood.’” Cory’s unrepentant look said volumes, and Rich chuckled. “I’m glad you two are happy together. At least I got one thing right in the past year.”

“You got more than that, Rich.”

Rich waved off the reassurance. “Right now, it doesn’t feel like it.”

Cory sighed, and from the look on his face, Rich knew that Cory would address his self-confidence issues in his own way. “I know, I know, you’ll make me regret saying that –”

“Always,” Cory told him. “You’re worth more than you give yourself credit for, Richie. Trying to live to Mac’s ideas of who you should be will get you killed. Told you that before, boyo.”

“Yeah, well, you know how well I listen to my elders.”

Cory laughed, and something within Rich eased to hear it. “Okay if I crash with you for a while?”

Cory glared at him. “As if you had to ask. Go, get yourself settled in, and come down when you’re ready.”

Stepping into the guest bedroom on the second floor, Rich pulled the contents of his duffel out and put his clothes away in the closet. He’d packed enough for a week, figuring he’d be able to figure out what he was doing next by the end of it. After a moment’s hesitation, he took a shower to clean off the worst of the road grime and sweat.

When he rejoined his friends in the library, the boxes of books he’d seen had been reduced to half, and Cory was teasing Nick about the fact that Nick owned a copy of a children’s fairytale in German. “You try to teach yourself German from Lucy,” Nick shot back.

“See, that’s the thing,” Cory drawled, his eyes alit with mischief. “I learned it from a –”

“Don’t finish that sentence if you don’t want Nick to be jealous,” Rich warned, grinning.

“Why should I be jealous? Whoever it was didn’t keep him.” Nick looked pleased. “Besides, I’m pretty sure he’s learned at least a few things from some pretty young thing who caught his eye.” Cory chuckled at that and leaned over to steal a kiss.

Rich rolled his eyes, anticipating Nick’s next statement.

“Here, if you’re gonna sit there, hand me that book,” Nick said, as Rich had expected.

Rich groaned on cue, but handed over the book anyway. To his relief, his friends kept the conversation focused away from the reason he was there, and onto the recent misadventures Cory and Nick had had in trying to get their furnishings from their homes in Torago and Alexandria.


	3. Chapter 3

Rich stood outside and stared out at the backyard, half-heartedly debating whether to stay or go. He’d nearly forgotten what it felt like to be in the company of his friends. Skype and email didn’t quite capture Cory’s dynamic energy or the way Nick had relaxed almost completely now that he’d made the decision to step back into an ownership role at Sanctuary. Nick apparently had also been mistaken in thinking he’d tied his Quickening to Sanctuary; it turned out that he’d actually gotten food poisoning and it had taken his body a few days to recover. If he’d been mortal still, he would’ve died. Now healthy again, Nick was enthusiastic about actually making Cory’s dream of making the LG Foundation a reality.

Rich couldn’t remember the last time he’d seen his friends this happy. The combination made Rich wish he was still Nick’s lover and made him remember the nights he’d shared sexual partners with Cory. Cory had introduced him to the latter on a dare; the surprise for Rich had been discovering he enjoyed it enough to try again. Rich was half-tempted to ride to the nearest pub and find someone, maybe a couple of someones, to while the rest of the night away.

Rich knew, though, that he wouldn’t leave. Indulging in the temptation wouldn’t erase the heartbreak he was feeling; making the three-hour drive down from Seacouver hadn’t changed how he felt, and going farther wouldn’t make a difference. Yet the part of him that had spent his formative years on the streets whispered he was better off leaving; he wasn’t needed here, and the longer he stayed, the more he would be in the way.

Cory had dragged Nick off to bed a while ago, and Rich envied them. He’d thought he’d had something worth keeping in Jamal. He’d thought they’d worked through their issues with how much information Rich thought Jamal needed to know, but after the last few days, Rich knew he’d been wrong. 

It wasn’t the first time in his life Rich had miscalculated badly. He just thought he’d prepared better this time. He heard the sliding door open and turned to see Cory step out. 

“Seems I’m always finding you in a cold, dark place,” Cory noted, lighting a cigarillo. 

“Not as cold as that night in Boston you rescued me,” Rich countered. “Thanks for distracting Nick from asking questions.” 

Cory grinned. “He’s fun that way. You know how passionate he is.” Cory smoked his cigarillo and waited. 

Rich remembered being the focus of Nick’s passion, and for a moment, regret filled him. He had enjoyed their friends-with-benefits relationship, but when they’d ended being lovers four years before, it had been largely because Rich hadn’t wanted more than that, hadn’t felt he loved Nick the way Nick deserved to be loved. Still, Nick had been one of the best lovers Rich had ever had. Jamal wasn’t immortal, and he’d been badly treated by his previous lovers to where he’d been nervous and unsure in bed; Rich had had to be more careful, had to hold back more. 

“I’ll be okay, Cory,” Rich said finally. 

Cory snorted. “Eventually, sure. Go upstairs, let Nick take care of you.” 

Rich closed his eyes briefly, wishing it were that simple. “That’s not going to fix anything, and it’ll make Nick think he has to choose between us. I know he loves me, just not to the same depth he does you.” 

“You’d rather freeze.” 

“Than cause problems for my best friends? Sure.” Rich hardened his voice. “You’re hoping I’m just desperate enough to ignore that tiny little detail where you haven’t talked to Nick yet about how you don’t mind sharing your lovers.” Cory winced at Rich’s direct hit. “Sorry, but I’ve fucked up one relationship this week. I don’t need to see if I can fuck up two.” 

“It’ll be fine,” Cory insisted. 

Rich rolled his eyes. “Don’t push, Cory. I know you can talk a man into anything. I don’t want to be persuaded. I don’t need any more complications in my life. I just need to let Jamal calm down and maybe he’ll change his mind.” 

Cory said nothing for the length of time it took to finish the rest of his cigarillo. “Try that again, Rich. I don’t think you believe it as much as you’d like me to. Why did Jamal turn you down?” 

Rich sighed. He knew Cory would see through him, but he’d hoped the older man would let him slide. “I had to defend him from Felice Martins. She, Mac, and I have a history – she tried going after Mac through me back when I was eighteen. I wasn’t one of us yet, and she pretended to be in love with me and that she was a newbie in need of training.” 

“She’s not. She helped forge some documents for me in the late 1800s.” 

Rich nodded. “We found that out later. Mac agreed to train her, but she turned on him. He defeated her, but didn’t take her head, told her to leave him and his friends alone. Guess it’s taken her this long to feel like she was strong enough to try again.”

Cory’s eyes narrowed. “How’d she find out about Jamal?” 

“She saw us leaving the dojo. She tried running us over, but I managed to get us to safety. Mac wanted to call dibs on her head.” Rich laughed darkly. “If I’d let him call that one, Jamal would be dead. She kidnapped Jamal, put a gun to his head, and told him that if he wanted to live, he’d call me to meet her challenge.” 

“Mac can’t take a woman’s head.” 

“I know,” Rich ground out. “I told him years ago I didn’t think Felice would stay away for good; she was too sure of herself. Felice wanted to kill him and me – she’d been training, taking a few heads, thought that if Mac had really put down his sword, he was ready. But when she saw I was still alive and with someone else – that really wound her up.” Rich paused, remembering the look of rage on her face, remembering how hard he’d fallen for her at eighteen, the promises he’d made back then. “She was just so angry, Cory. I was pissed at her for taking my boyfriend, for making him live through something he’ll have nightmares over. I wasn’t in the mood for mercy. I promised myself that when it was over, I’d make sure that Jamal knew I’d be there for him, do whatever it took. I asked him to marry me.” Rich choked back a sob. “He looked at me and he told me to get out of his life. Called me a murderer, said if I’d stayed away, he wouldn’t have been kidnapped. I told him I’m not going to ever be sorry that I saved his life.” Rich looked at Cory. “You can get me in trouble tomorrow, Cory. Tonight I just want to be alone somewhere I can let my guard down.” 

Cory nodded once as he ground out his cigarillo in the ashtray by the sliding glass door. He cupped Rich’s shoulder briefly, then headed back inside. 

Alone again, Rich took a deep, shuddering breath as he fought back tears.


	4. Chapter 4

“Cory, it’s Mac. Sorry to bother you, but have you seen Richie?”

“Depends,” Cory said the next morning, waking quickly as he answered his phone. It wasn’t quite sunrise, but it was early enough to make him cranky. “Do I get a finder’s fee?”

Beside him in their bed, Nick mouthed, “Who is it?”

In reply, Cory switched the phone to speaker.

“Look, Cory, I don’t care if you two are partners again. I know someone is after him and Richie’s not answering his phone, and I’m worried. He was supposed to meet me this morning and no one’s seen him since Thursday. We’ve been getting along a lot better lately and he’s usually good about letting me know when he’s not coming in.”

Cory heard genuine worry in Mac’s voice. Still, Cory knew Rich blamed Mac for not handling the problem permanently in the first place. “He’s safe, Mac.”

“Oh thank God. Is he available?”

“No,” Cory said, hardening his voice. “If he wanted to talk to you, he’d have called you. I’ll let him know you’re looking for him.” Cory paused. “How’d you get my number?”

“Richie listed you as his emergency contact when we set up the employment records for the dojo.” Mac paused before adding, “Tell him to call Joe Dawson when he gets a chance? The man’s worried sick.”

“I’ll let him know.” Not bothering with a goodbye, Cory ended the call and set his phone down on the nightstand.

Nick eyed him. “Which MacLeod was that?”

“Duncan,” Cory replied, amused by his lover’s avid curiosity. “Apparently Rich has been incommunicado since Thursday.”

“I take it that you don’t feel obligated to let Duncan know where exactly Rich is.”

“Would you?”

“No. Aside from knowing the nightmares he’s caused Rich, the man didn’t really impress me when I met him in Paris.” Nick looked at Cory. “I thought you and Duncan were friends.”

Cory shrugged. “We’re not enemies this decade. He tends to judge me for being a thief, thinks that I’m frivolous, not good with a sword, and that I’m planning to get him in trouble.” Cory grinned. “The latter is occasionally true. He used to have such a fine sense of humor about that sort of stuff.”

“Why does it suit you to let him think that? You’re no slouch in a fight; you’re fast and tricky. I still don’t know for sure what your preferred weapon is – a pair of short swords or that gorgeous broadsword – because you keep switching it up on me.”

“I don’t care much about the Game,” Cory said evenly. “But I’m not an idiot, either, and I haven’t survived for seven centuries and change without knowing how much power there is in information. Mac underestimates me and has for centuries, and anyone who hears about me from him will do the same.”

For a moment, Nick stared at his lover. “And now I see one of the reasons why Rich thought you would be good for me. You don’t fight on the same playing field as everyone else – you’re doing in it in the court of public opinion, where most of us establish who we are.”

Cory acknowledged that with a quick grin and a kiss.

“Mac sounded like he was afraid Rich had lost his head. Was it that bad? I know you talked to Rich last night.”

“Eavesdropping?” Cory teased.

Nick shrugged unapologetically. “Man’s gotta get his information somehow, and I was wondering what was taking you so long to come back to bed. Rich had that look yesterday that he’d taken a head. I saw it a little too much in Paris – someone always thought we were stupid and untrained because we spent so much time on holy ground, and once the grapevine heard that Rich was there too, there were headhunters after him. He was afraid of overloading, so we did our best not to take every challenge, but I think he took more than I did.”

Cory sighed. “Wouldn’t surprise me if he did that. He tends to want to protect the people he cares about.”

Nick nodded. “Yeah. Like I said, I’ve seen him look like he’s had a Quickening burn through him, so I figured it was that. I think something happened with him and Jamal, too. I didn’t hear everything, though.”

“Rich proposed. Jamal said no.”

Shocked at that, Nick stared at Cory. “From what Rich said, it sounded like they were definitely headed for that level of commitment. What the hell happened? No, wait, I heard Rich say that he killed someone to save Jamal.”

“It sounds romantic to say ‘I’d die for you.’ Reality is cold and ugly, and some people can’t handle it.”

That made Nick pause. “I have a hard time thinking that if you don’t love someone so much that you’re willing to risk everything you have, you don’t love them enough.” He met Cory’s eyes. “I loved Amanda like that, and it’s bittersweet to know that I thought I was mortal when I was risking my life for her. She even thought that if she faked her death, I’d believe it and walk away.”

Cory snorted. “That’s because Amanda underestimated you. The word ‘quit’ is not a part of your vocabulary. You love someone, you love them, period, end of story, and you don’t stop until they’ve done something you can’t forgive or you fall out of love with them.” Cory paused. “I love that about you, by the way.”

Nick chuckled. “Most people have told me I’m too intense.”

“No, it’s good. It means you tend to be a little more careful with your heart and with anything you give your energy to, because once you commit, you’re not likely to walk away without a good reason.” Cory studied Nick a moment. “Which brings me to something you’ve been trying to hide from me? I know you love Rich. I’m not threatened by that.”

Surprised, Nick took a moment to respond. “Why not?”

“Because life is too short to live with jealousy and regret, even for us,” Cory said easily. “If I tried to segregate who I loved, I’d drive myself crazy. I've loved Amanda, too, and have had to spend the last several centuries sharing her with Mac, among other people. You can’t go through that and realize that whom you love can be more than one person, in different ways, and sometimes with the same level of intensity.”

“I feel like I’m somehow cheating on you.”

“You’re not,” Cory said bluntly. “Not in my book. I knew that about you before I came to your house.”

Nick goggled at Cory. “And you still...” Swallowing hard, he asked, “I’m not substituting for someone you’d rather –”

Cory kissed him. “No. You are first in my heart.”

Relieved, Nick closed his eyes briefly. “I love you, Cory. I didn’t expect to, and I half expected you to tell me you needed me to pull off some crazy heist just because I owed you, but you didn’t, and now you’re offering everything I thought wasn’t possible. Just when I think I have you figured out, you throw me curveballs.”

“You catch them pretty well.” Cory grinned.

Nick acknowledged that with a wry nod. “Rich and I drew boundaries around our relationship. Neither of us wanted to fall in love, but I broke the rules and fell in love anyway. I know what I feel about him isn’t what he wants from me, so I’ve tried to keep it quiet, non-threatening. I figured having him in my life, as my friend, was good enough. Then you came along and I finally understand what he’s been trying to tell me: he can’t be everything I need him to be. Somewhere along the way, you’ve learned how not to let the Game damage your enthusiasm for living. I need someone to lean on and make me laugh, because I get too serious, and Rich can be too independent for me.”

Nodding, Cory took Nick’s hands in his. “He told me you made him feel like he was a hero.”

“He is,” Nick insisted. “He gave me a reason to pull my head out of my ass and start really living again. I didn’t trust anyone of us to give me a straight answer except maybe Matthew, and Rich knew it. Rich gave me the perspective I needed – that I wasn’t the only one Amanda had ever gotten in trouble, among other things. He made life fun again and…” Nick took a deep breath. “I thought we were going to continue doing things the way we’d been, but when Rich said he wanted to travel again, I realized I loved him more than he did me.”

“Rich needs a home base,” Cory pointed out. “But he’s not completely comfortable in one place for too long; there’s been too much evidence to make him believe that any home is ever completely permanent, so he’d rather be the one to choose to leave than be forced to do so.”

“What makes you think that?”

“Because I’ve lived his life. One particularly bad decade, I was more sure of where I wasn’t welcome than where I was – and I’d even annoyed Matthew. Wound up spending most of that decade on the road. It wasn’t until a friend stumbled across me that I was even aware of how low I’d sunk. Besides,” and now Cory grinned, “Rich will tell you things if you know when to ask.”

Nick chuckled ruefully at that. “Took me a long time to figure that one out; he’s good at evading.” Nick paused and looked seriously at his boyfriend. “I love and need you in my life; after the past year, I can’t imagine living without you.”

“But?”

“I want Rich. Still.” Taking in a deep breath, Nick added, “And now that he’s hurting, all I want to do is tuck him in between us and make him forget. All afternoon yesterday, all I could think about was how much I wanted that, and what a creep I was for wanting.”

Cory chuckled. “I noticed, and you’re not a creep for wanting. You’re human, you love him, and I’m not blind; he’s very attractive. I don’t mind sharing you with him. You two have history, and I’m not going to stand in the way of that. You’re not going to lose my love, or me, so don’t feel like you have to choose between us. If it means that I leave the house awhile so you can do what you need, then I’ll leave. I’d rather watch, though.”

“You’re serious.”

“I never joke about something this important.” Cory kissed Nick reassuringly. “I love you and want you to be happy. I may hold your heart for a time, but I don’t own it or you.”

Nick studied him. “Do you want Rich for yourself?”

Cory chuckled. “I tried making a pass at Rich once. We wound up laughing our asses off. First time in a long time I’d had zero chemistry with someone I wanted. I trust him as a partner and a friend; I hate seeing him doubt himself again. Boy’s been through enough hell; he doesn’t need any more.”

“You’re giving me permission to do whatever it takes to change that,” Nick realized. “You’re that sure of us.” Amazed, Nick looked at Cory as the implications spun through his head. “I don’t want to fuck this up. You’re the best thing that’s happened to me in a very long time. I’m not sure I want to risk losing you and Rich – and I know Rich well enough to know he’d walk away entirely. I’d rather keep him as my best friend than try for more.”

Looking as though he’d expected nothing less, Cory nodded. “Nothing needs to happen now. Rich thinks there’s a chance he and Jamal will reconcile. That’s a sucker bet.” 

“You think that Rich’s relationship with Jamal is over permanently.” 

Cory nodded. “Or close to it. I’ve seen him talk about Jamal, too – and in all this time, Rich has never introduced us to him, not even in a phone call. Tell me, love, is Rich someone who’d hide us from someone he truly loved?” 

“Maybe? We’re not exactly easy people.” Nick smiled briefly. “And you play jokes on people just so you can see how they handle things. But I…I’ve never been in a relationship with more than one person at a time. I feel like I’d get jealous and possessive.” 

“If it was someone other than Rich, I’d believe that,” Cory noted. “Just think about it, Nick. If you don’t want to, that’s okay. It’s just a suggestion.” 

Nick snorted. “Why is this so important to you?” 

Cory looked at him steadily. “Because for the first time in centuries, I’m in love with someone who makes me think we have a really good shot at forever, someone who won’t dance in and out of my life for a temporary good time. And that someone happens to be in love with one of my best friends, and I want to keep both of them happy if I can.” 

“Those aren’t the only reasons.” 

Cory laughed. “As if you haven’t figured out already what I like. Or did you think I just liked playing with toys and watching porn with you?” 

Nick’s breath caught at that, and a slow flush of arousal colored his face and neck as he connected the dots. He remembered that he’d been surprised to learn Cory liked threesome porn, and even more surprised to discover just how much the scenario intrigued him. 

“I’ve had a long time to figure out what turns me on,” Cory told him. He took a deep breath and confessed, “Rich and I have shared partners before. I’ve missed doing that.” 

Nick stared at him. “I thought it was just a measure of your friendship that he knew you that well, but that explains why he thought we’d be so good together. He knows you as intimately as any lover does. You’ve never touched him that way?” 

Cory shook his head. “Like I said, I can see his appeal, but there’s no spark between us. Does it turn me on to see him playing with a shared lover? Sure, because I like watching sex almost as much as I like having it. But I’m going to touch our shared lover next, not him.” 

“I haven’t ever been in this situation before,” Nick admitted. “You’ve given me a lot to think about, Cory. For now, I just want to see if we can cheer Rich up. We haven’t gotten a Christmas tree yet. Do you want to do that today?” 

“See if you can find that lot the news mentioned, the one that supports multiple charities,” Cory said. “But first I think you need this.” He kissed Nick slowly, igniting the flame of passion. 

Nick loved the way Cory kissed, with the enthusiasm and joy that was so much a part of him. Quiet moments like this, when Cory took his time to savor the love they shared, made Nick fall in love with him even more. Nick returned Cory’s kiss and brought his arms up to hold him. Nick marveled, as he had for most of the past year, that this man wanted him. Cory was over seven hundred years old; he’d had many lovers in his lifetime, and he had a carefully developed reputation for being a man whose sole purpose in life was to steal money just to give it away to charitable causes; everything else was unimportant. Nick now knew that Cory reserved his friendship and his love for those he felt were worth the risk. Hearing Cory’s proposal to allow Nick to be with Rich again made Nick acutely aware that if he’d heard the same proposal from anyone else, the immediate answer would’ve been no. 

Cory started to nibble, lick, and kiss his way down Nick’s jaw and throat. Nick inhaled sharply, and further contemplation of Cory’s proposal was instantly discarded. Nick had always loved it when someone took the time to explore his jaw and throat like this; discovering that trusting another immortal to do it heightened his feeling of arousal had been a pleasant surprise. 

Nick whimpered as Cory bit his collarbone lightly. Cory then reached for Nick’s t-shirt, tugging it upwards, and Nick took his cue to shed the garment and toss it aside. Unwilling to be the only one half-naked, Nick kissed Cory before quickly undoing the buttons on Cory’s shirt. 

Before Nick could continue with his plan to give back what he’d been given, Cory took possession of Nick’s mouth again and kissed him deeply as his hands rose to play with Nick’s nipples. Not content with the way Nick shuddered with pleasure, Cory bent his head to suck on each of Nick’s nipples in turn. Cory took his time, clearly wanting to drive Nick out of his mind with desire and need. 

Nick couldn’t think, could only feel. In this moment, all thoughts of another lover were distant; Cory was making it clear that he still wanted Nick. Love and arousal surged through Nick, making breathing difficult. Dimly, he realized that Cory was in one of his controlling moods, which meant that Cory got pleasure out of making Nick forget everything except the way Cory made him feel. Since that also meant that Nick got the pleasure of having Cory suck and fuck him, Nick surrendered willingly to Cory’s lead. Another time, it would be his turn to take control, to drive Cory this insane with sexual need. Now, however, Nick’s attention was captured by Cory’s mouth and hands on his body and the press of Cory’s body against his own. The fire of passion blazed within Nick and he wanted everything Cory was determined to give him.


	5. Chapter 5

Rich heard Nick in the throes of passion and stopped at the base of the stairs to the third floor. Hating that he remembered exactly what would make Nick moan like that, Rich breathed deep and shoved the memory aside. For a moment, he wanted to indulge his voyeuristic side, and cursed his impulse. He didn’t need a complicated love life; the one he had was already messed up.

Turning, he detoured to the kitchen, where he started the coffeemaker and began searching for something to nibble on while it brewed. Finding cheddar and apples, he put a small plate together and debated whether to cook breakfast. He knew Nick liked to eat out for Sunday breakfast; they’d developed the habit in Paris, and Cory had adopted it. Rich wasn’t sure if they’d found a place they liked yet in Portland. He hoped so. He usually ate enough for two people, and cooking ranked as his least favorite chore. Still, he knew how, and cooking for other people was always preferable than cooking for one.

Figuring that Nick and Cory would be a while, Rich dug out his phone from the jacket he’d left on the bench near the door. To his relief, it had survived the Quickening; military specification level protection was apparently good for something. He saw immediately that he had several voice mails, and listening to them, he heard how increasingly panicked Mac sounded.

For a moment, Rich hesitated on calling his teacher back. Mac’s attempt to pull the ‘more experienced’ card on him – even when both of them knew that the likelihood that Mac would actually take Felice’s head was not high – had angered Rich. Rich wasn’t in Mac’s league as a swordsman, but he’d held his own against stronger, older, more experienced immortals enough times to feel like he would win more often than not. Though Mac knew Rich was more experienced than he'd been the first time they'd encountered Felice, Mac’s first instinct still was to protect Rich, and it annoyed Rich to no end. 

Deciding to split hairs, Rich called Joe.

“You worried me, kid,” Joe said. “I know you usually vanish down the road after a Quickening, but I wasn’t sure how far you’d gone or if you were coming back. Your Watcher’s freaking out, by the way. She couldn’t see if you and Jamal came out of that house, and then she had to leave because she saw a police car pass by.”

“He was in shock a while,” Rich said. “It was a few hours before we got out of there.”

“He’s okay, though?”

Rich swallowed. “He fell apart like I did the first time I got kidnapped. Joe, can you talk to him? Convince him to go see someone? He, uh, he’s not talking to me anymore.”

“What?” Surprise colored Joe’s voice. “You two were solid.”

“Yeah, well, you know the first time you see someone kill to protect you, it messes up your worldview.”

“Oh, Richie. I’m sorry. Where are you now?”

“With Cory and Nick at their new house.”

“Will you be back?”

“Maybe to grab some stuff out of my apartment, but –” Rich sighed, resigned, “unless Jamal changes his mind, probably best if I stay away. I’m not sure I can talk to Mac right now. He pulled rank and challenged Felice, and she bailed on him and kidnapped Jamal instead.”

“You think he should’ve taken her head a long time ago. He wanted to give her a chance to redeem herself.”

“Doesn’t seem like she used that chance wisely now does it?” Rich knew it wasn’t Joe’s fault, but he was still upset. “In any case, she’s been handled and won’t be coming back.”

Joe said nothing for a moment. “I’ll talk to Jamal and Mac. You just stay out of trouble, Richie.”

“Thanks, Joe, and thanks for letting me tend your bar and train Maggie.”

“Anytime you want to work for me, there’s a spot for you.”

“Thanks, Joe. Take care of yourself.” Rich disconnected the call in time to see Nick and Cory enter the kitchen. 

“So, about breakfast, did you have a place in mind?” Rich asked, deliberately forestalling any questions.

“We thought we could head over to Zell’s,” Cory said, “and then pick up our Christmas tree.”

“Oh, you’re getting a real one? I haven’t decorated one of those since I was eighteen,” Rich said enthusiastically as he reached for his jacket. “Tessa insisted that we go all out for our first Christmas together.” He smiled at the memory. “I didn’t have the heart to tell her I hadn’t celebrated Christmas in years, but she and Mac figured it out pretty quick. She proceeded to give Mac hell for letting her run wild with it.”

Cory and Nick chuckled. “How wild was wild?” Cory wondered.

“Mac had a barge on the river and the whole place was decorated. We couldn’t move without hitting something Christmas-y. Nick, remember that year we held a holiday decorating contest for the staff at Sanctuary?”

Nick groaned, remembering. “Yeah. We were still finding glitter six months later.”

“Yeah, it was like that.” At Cory’s look, Rich asked, “You don’t know about glitter confetti?”

“I know about glitter and confetti, but the two together, that’s new to me.”

Nick and Rich laughed as Nick and Cory grabbed their coats from the hooks by the door. “We’ll run by a party store and show you,” Nick promised, “if you swear you won’t use it in the house or on either of us. I do not want to clean glitter out of my underwear again.”

“It went that far?” Rich looked faintly shocked, and the story behind that tale took them all the way to breakfast.


	6. Chapter 6

_January 2014_

Two weeks later, Rich was touring a prospective location for what would be the headquarters for the Locksley Greene Foundation with Cory and Nick when his phone rang. Looking at the screen, hope rose as he saw the caller was Jamal. Excusing himself, he stepped outside and took the call.

“I’m not calling at a bad time?” Jamal sounded nervous and unsure.

“No, it’s fine,” Rich assured Jamal. “I was just helping some friends decide on the new location for their business. How are you?”

Jamal didn’t answer for a moment. “Joe helped me find someone who deals with kidnapping trauma,” he said. “I saw her for the first time last week. She’s been very helpful.” He took a deep breath and let it out. “I’m sorry, Rich, but if being with you means running the risk of being hurt like that again, I don’t want it. I went looking for you at the pub to talk to you, but Joe said you were in Portland.” He paused again. “I have some things I’d like to give back to you. Would it be okay if I left them with Joe?”

Grief and regret filled Rich and he swallowed hard. “It isn’t a problem for me, but you’ll have to check with Joe. Otherwise you can drop them off at the dojo and I’ll get them from Mac.”

“Will do,” Jamal said. He paused. “I’m sorry, Rich. I…I love you still, and hope you’re happy. But for my sake, please be happy with someone else.”

Feeling as though he’d been stabbed, Rich took a deep breath to clear the emotion welling in his throat. “I love you, Jamal. Take care of yourself.” Rich disconnected the call and leaned against the wall. For a moment, he gave into impulse and punched the wall, welcoming the physical pain. Then he took a deep breath and reminded himself that he’d survived worse.

Then he looked up to see Nick standing there, a look of sympathy on his face. Nick stepped closer and hugged him, hard. “I was just coming to tell you that we like this place; Cory’s signing the paperwork. But we can cut it short and pick it up tomorrow with the agent if you want to go get drunk or go hit something. I set my punching bag up in the garage.”

“Drunk,” Rich agreed. “But I can wait until Cory’s done. No sense in making you guys come back just because of me – I know you want this place up and running rather than running it out of your house.”

* * *

Four and a half hours later, Cory watched, worried, as Rich flirted his way through the crowded pub. Rich was in a zone, scoring more often than not, but Cory had seen him in this mode before. Rich was one wrong word away from a fight and just drunk enough that he was slowing down his ability to counter the alcohol. Two years ago, Cory would’ve been right beside him, scheming to see who they could tag-team, who might be amiable to a threesome, who would be willing to go for a quickie in a bathroom stall. If a fight broke out, well, that was just part of the fun.

Tonight, however, the last thing Cory wanted was to draw too much attention. Rich’s method for easing his heartache was one Cory had used many times over the years, but Cory knew how hollow it really was. It didn’t seem right, somehow, that Rich was doing this – not when Cory knew someone who was better suited. Watching Rich, Cory realized he’d miscalculated just how much Jamal had meant to the younger immortal, and seeing Rich try to erase Jamal’s memory with a parade of strangers made Cory’s heart ache. 

For his part, Nick was paying attention to the trick shot-laden pool game in progress not far from where he and Cory sat, which meant that Nick wasn't seeing the danger Rich was putting himself in. For a moment, Cory was tempted to intercede himself – but he knew Rich well enough to know that Rich was liable to misinterpret anything Cory said. He’d made the mistake of trying to extricate Rich once when Rich had been in this mood, and Rich had thought Cory was coming over to join in the fun. 

Leaning over, Cory tapped Nick on the shoulder and said, “Go be Rich's boyfriend before he starts a fight.”

“What?” Startled, Nick looked at Cory. “I’m with you, not him.”

Cory rolled his eyes. “You see that biker in the corner? He’s one of us. Rich is a minute away from stealing his girlfriend. Now go and pull Rich away before we have a fight. I like this bar and want to keep coming here.”

To Cory's relief, Nick took one look and moved. Cory trailed behind him, just in case.

“Hey, babe, you said you were coming back. What are you doing over here? The restroom’s the other corner.” Nick laid an arm around Rich and stepped neatly between him and the current object of his interest.

Rich blinked at him. "Nick?"

“Oh no, not this again.” Nick aimed a sheepish smile at the brown-haired woman with whom Rich had been flirting. “Excuse us. He thinks he can get a woman when he’s this drunk. Too bad he's gay and with me.” Nick had a sheer mass advantage over Rich, and he used it now to move them away from the woman.

"He's too gorgeous to be gay."

“And you look too smart to cheat on your boyfriend,” Nick shot back, “but appearances can be deceiving.”

That shut her up, and allowed Nick to move Rich farther away from her. 

“What now?” Nick asked Cory.

“Now we get out of here.”

“Aw, come on, guys, the night is still young,” Rich protested. “And she was pretty and she wanted me.”

“No, Rich,” Cory said firmly. “She just wanted you to make her boyfriend jealous.”

Rich stared at Cory, even as he let himself be nudged out of the pub. “You see too much,” Rich muttered. “And quit shoving, Nick. I can take the hint.” He stumbled out of the door, only to be caught by Nick. 

“You gonna be okay? I don’t think I’ve ever seen you this drunk,” Nick noted.

“’m fine,” Rich told him, and pulled out a flask from inside his jacket to down more whiskey.

Cory shook his head and stole the flask. “Enough. You’re gonna hate yourself in the morning, even if you don’t get a hangover.”

Rich pouted, but let himself be guided to the lot across the street where Nick had parked his SUV. 

It didn’t take them long to return to the house. Rich had passed out during the course of the trip, and Nick and Cory wound up manhandling him up to his bedroom.

“I’ve seen him drunk, but this is the first time I’ve seen him like this.”

“He didn’t overindulge at Sanctuary?” Cory asked, surprised.

“Not to this level, no,” Nick said as they headed up to their room. “Kinda wish now I’d been paying a little closer attention. He’ll have a hell of hangover in the morning.”

Cory shook his head. “Doubt it. He and I used to get drunk together; he’ll be fine when he wakes up. I take it you still get hangovers?”

Nick grimaced. “Yeah. Though it’s been a while – Rich said something about it might be different now that I’ve fought more.” Nick shook his head. “Not that it matters right now. What was Rich doing that I missed?” Nick opened the French doors to the master bedroom, which was split between a sleeping area and a sitting area by the center support column.

Cory stared at Nick. “You were that vested in the pool game?”

“Yeah. I was trying to figure out who I could hustle, and then I realized they weren’t playing by the regular rules because they were doing a lot of physics-based shots.” Nick shrugged. “Sorry?”

“My fault for not warning you,” Cory waved off the apology. “Rich and I used to see who could get drunk the most and still get laid. I thought you knew he played that game.”

Nick grimaced. “I thought that was what he was doing, but I figured he just got dumped, he had the right to find solace elsewhere.” Nick sat down on the sofa and began pulling off his shoes. “Which leads me to something I’ve wanted to talk to you about, but with him around, it’s been difficult to find a time.” 

“Which is?” Cory sat down in a side chair and removed his own shoes. He pulled the knives he’d hid in his jacket out and set them on the nightstand on his side of the bed before hanging the garment on the hook on the wall just to the right of the door.

Nick set his boots aside and pulled his sword out of his three-quarter length coat. The sword went onto the pegs mounted on the center support column, the coat to a companion hook next to where Cory’s jacket hung. The gun Nick was also never without went into a drawer in one of the nightstands. 

As both men undressed and got ready for bed, Nick continued, “You want to open our relationship up to Rich. If I said yes, what does that mean for us in real terms? Because it just seems like when it gets bad, everything could explode. I feel like you and I just finally got to a point where we’re really communicating and I can anticipate what you’ll do in any given situation.”

“If it doesn’t feel right,” Cory said gently, “then don’t. Don’t do it because you think it’ll make me happy.”

Nick half-chuckled at that. “You have me so curious about this now,” he told Cory. “You said you and Rich have shared partners before.”

Cory nodded. “No one we cared about for more than a night or two, though.” Cory shrugged. “Some things are easier when you aren’t risking your heart.”

Nick eyed him. “We aren’t talking about one night. If we were, you’d have already maneuvered us into that. And don’t try to give me that line about how you just like threesomes – you’re moving carefully, which means this matters to you a lot.”

Cory hesitated. “I was in a triad for twenty years, Nick. I fell in love with a friend, but he was married – and it didn’t pay to be gay back then. His wife fell in love with me; I wasn’t in love with her at first. We came to an arrangement that worked for all of us.”

“No one minded?”

“They lived on a farm in the middle of nowhere. I was much needed help. I woke up one morning to find them both dead.”

“I’m sorry.”

Cory half-smiled. “It’s been four centuries, but they taught me a lot about how to make a relationship work. I’ve tried a few times since, but it hasn’t been the same.”

“So what makes you think we can do this? Or that Rich will even say yes?”

“First off, we set ground rules,” Cory told him. “I don’t want to lose what we have together. I love you, and while I don’t get jealous often, I don’t want to feel like I’m being taken for granted, either. I’m not inviting anyone else to share in this, just Rich. Part of that is because I know and care about him, I know how he reacts, and I know you love him. I don’t want to open our relationship up to anyone else – just him.”

“Not even Amanda? I know you have history with her.”

Cory shook his head. “She’ll try to convince us it’s just one time, no big deal, but you know how her plans never completely go the way she wants them to – and we don’t need that kind of headache. You might’ve forgiven her enough to work with her, but from what you’ve told me, you fell out of love with her.”

Nick nodded agreement.

“So did I when she tricked me into helping her a while back. She’s a little too dangerous for my health. As beautiful and fun as she is, I want someone I can trust more, someone who genuinely cares – and will consider consequences. That’s Rich.”

Nick let out a breath. “You’re basically making an exception for him.”

Nodding, Cory continued, “Rich means a lot to me. He’s become a good friend, but I don’t want you to think that I’m forgetting about us. If you start to feel neglected or excluded or if I feel the same, I want us to talk about it. If he hurts you, then the sharing ends. If you feel like you’re falling more in love with him than me –” Cory took a deep breath “– please don’t think you have to end what we have. Come to me and we’ll talk, take stock, and see where things stand.”

Nick considered Cory’s words and then met Cory’s worried gaze. “I don’t think,” Nick said slowly, “I could love you any less than I do now. What you said just now makes sense. I don’t want to lose you and you know I’ll talk your ear off about damn near everything. I’ve gotten used to thinking that the way I feel about Rich is just hopeless, but what you’re suggesting – I want to try. I just don’t want to lose Rich’s friendship over it, either. I’m afraid Rich will freak more than I’m afraid we’ll break up because of it. I just don’t know how we’re going to do this. If we move too soon, it’ll look like we’re offering a rebound or a pity fuck.”

“So we don’t act like we are,” Cory said. “We give him reasons to stay.”


	7. Chapter 7

Rich knew something was up. He just couldn’t pin it down as to what, and it took him several weeks before he realized that Nick was flirting with him, in front of Cory. Worse, Rich realized that Cory was helping to set situations up so that Rich couldn’t ignore either of them. It was as if he’d been allowed a month or so to come to terms with his heartache over Jamal, and then Cory and Nick decided he’d had enough moping and needed to move on, preferably with them. Cory had always flirted with Rich to some degree, but he’d never meant much by it since they’d figured out they were incompatible. Now, however, there was a different tone to Cory’s flirting, as if he liked seeing how Nick reacted to it, and there was a hint of something more as well.

The shift was making Rich acutely aware of how attractive Cory was. Rich had always admired Cory’s lean handsomeness, quick mind, and easy charm, but he’d spent years putting Cory in the ‘oh yeah he’s handsome but I’m not attracted to him that way and it’s awesome we’re friends’ box. Now, it felt as though Cory was redrawing that box, expanding it, forcing Rich to reevaluate what he’d held to be true. 

Once the office for the foundation had been set up and Nick and Cory began operating it, Rich realized they didn’t need his skills. Though they tried to convince him they were fine paying him to operate the office and be the receptionist, Rich was bored. He found a sales position at a local motorcycle dealership, and was much happier as a result.

Most Fridays, dinner turned into a night of watching movies. Between them, Nick and Cory had an extensive collection of DVDs, and they’d finished setting up the media room. Rich had a Netflix subscription he’d acquired when he was dating Jamal, and he claimed that the two older immortals were sadly lacking in their appreciation of recent pop culture. It made for lively, spirited debates over dinner, resolved by the simple fact that they’d agreed to take turns by order of age, and no one could pick the same film twice. Cory kept maneuvering things so that Nick was in the middle of the couch, and since Nick liked to sprawl, it meant that Rich wound up being Nick’s pillow so that Cory was freer to move. 

Cornering Cory one March night after dinner, Rich looked at his friend and said, “I thought I told you I prefer my love life uncomplicated.”

“It’s not that complicated,” Cory said evenly as he put away the dishes. “You’ve been moping around the house for the last three months. You know I’m a voyeur. Nick’s willing to let me watch, and I know you don’t have a problem with me watching you with someone else.”

“Cory, Nick isn’t a random stranger we picked up.”

“Which would be an interesting experience, don’t you think? Someone who knows you that well? Come on, Rich, I know you’re not a prude. You can’t hurt what I have with Nick. You might just add something to it. You were worried about that a year ago, and yeah, a year ago, you were right. Seducing him as a tag-team effort would’ve backfired.” Cory looked at him. “Or are you that afraid to love him?”

Rich stared at him and shook his head. “Come on, Cory, this is me. You met me after I ended being friends-with-benefits and went back to just being friends with Nick – did I act like I was afraid to love anyone?”

Cory chuckled. “No. You were spitting fire at being used by that Hunter, but afraid is the last word I would’ve used.”

“Being afraid to love Nick has never been my problem – it’s that I’ve never felt like what I felt was enough for him. He’s found that love in you. I want more than to feel like I’m second best.”

“That’s not what we meant,” Cory hastened to assure him. “Look, if you met someone tomorrow and fell in love with them, we won’t stop you from trying to make that work. All we’re offering is a little happiness, some assurance that you’re wanted and loved.”

Rich shook his head. “Thanks, but I’ll pass. I like what we have now.” He gave Cory a rueful smile. “Besides, there’s this gorgeous brunette at the coffee shop and we have a date tomorrow night.”

“Oh, which coffee shop?” Cory asked as Nick wandered into the kitchen.

“The one by the foundation office, across the street. Her name is Cheryl.”

Nick stared at Rich. “Cheryl? Who’s Cheryl?”

“Brunette who owns the coffee shop across the street, Celtic rose and sword tattoo down her right arm?” Rich prompted.

“You did check her for a Watcher tattoo?” Nick asked suspiciously.

Rich glared at him. “No, I’m idiot enough to not ask if she’s Watching, who the fuck do you think I am?”

Cory chuckled, and just as if it had never come up, they were friends again, with nothing more under discussion than Rich’s date the following evening. 

Still, there were moments where Rich caught Nick looking at him wistfully. Worse, Cory stopped flirting with Rich, something Cory had never done before, and it shook Rich, made him think that Cory was deeply disappointed in him. Seeing Cory and Nick together made his heart ache, and after Rich’s refusal, they seemed to draw into each other more. They were happy, and he felt he was bringing them down by being around. It made him find excuses not to spend time with them, to stay away from home more. He told himself it was so he could date more – but he’d find himself in a club nursing a drink he was using more as prop and not taking anyone home. Privately, Rich admitted that the more he thought about what they offered, the more he wanted it – but as the months passed and summer approached, the more he felt as though the moment to say yes had passed. 

Consequently, he’d withdrawn more into himself, trying to figure out what he was going to do next. Rich did what he normally did when he was feeling out of sorts: he worked out, taking classes at a local martial arts studio, running more, driving himself to train harder, to learn more. He almost had enough saved to travel the world again; he had half a mind to see Japan or Australia. Another month of good sales and he’d be set. He knew he was running away, but he figured it was better to run away with a broken heart than stay and keep bleeding from the open wound.


	8. Chapter 8

_June 2014_

Cory and Nick stepped through the factory, which had been shut down due to the economy but the owners hadn’t apparently finished clearing out the equipment. Nick had his gun out, prepared to meet resistance, but as they got closer to the center of the production floor, one look told both men that a Quickening had ripped through the area, exploding everything in its path. Grimly, they hunted for a friend, hoping he’d won, but prepared for the worst.

Not for the first time that morning, Cory cursed the fact that Rich had chosen to take the headhunter’s challenge for himself instead of letting Cory fight. Rich had deliberately disconnected the starters on both Nick’s SUV and Cory’s van, and chained the tires of their motorcycles together, slowing them down considerably. By the time they’d arrived at the factory – the headhunter’s chosen fighting ground – they were too late to do more than see the Quickening lightning. 

If it had been anyone other than Rich, Cory would’ve appreciated the gesture more. Getting out of a challenge – including completely ignoring it, which had been his intention – was something Cory practiced frequently. As it was, Cory had spent considerable time talking Nick out of taking the challenge – and Cory was annoyed that Rich had just decided to risk himself. Clearly, the boy needed a better outlet for his need for adrenaline – say, the robbery Cory was considering on doing in a few days. If Rich survived this – and from the flickers of Presence he felt, Cory was sure he had – Cory was going to have to kick his ass. Just because Cory didn’t care much for the Game didn’t mean he’d never won a fight in it – and he had a sinking suspicion that Rich had done it to feel better about himself. 

“How good are you at pinpointing where someone is?” Nick asked, stopping just inside the third room they’d entered. “I thought we were headed in the right direction, but now I’m not sure.”

Cory took a moment to breathe and focus. “It’s flickering in and out. But I can’t guarantee it’s Rich.” 

Nick’s face fell. “Damn. Was hoping you’d have a better shot than me.”

Cory shook his head. “All I can say is that I think whoever it is –” He gestured to his left and forward of their current position. They moved through another room until they came to a part where a section of ceiling and wall had collapsed, and sparks still sizzled near a piece of machinery. Hurriedly, Cory and Nick cleared the rubble, and saw immediately that Rich was alive, but impaled by a steel rod. 

Rich looked at them, pain on his face, but he marshaled a grin for both of them. “Hey, fancy meeting you here. I decided to hang around a while after I won.”

“We see that,” Cory said. “We can do this one of two ways, Rich. Pull you off without killing you first or kill you first and then pull you off.”

“Just shoot me now.” He looked at Nick. “No guilt tripping.”

Reassured by that, Nick shot him. Aware that Rich tended to heal quickly, Nick wasted no time in assisting Cory with removing Rich from the steel. Cory was grateful that Nick wasn’t squeamish. In an ideal world, they would’ve cut the steel rod first, then removed it from Rich, but they hadn’t brought tools, and the window of time before someone reported a disturbance at this location was rapidly closing. Cory and Nick eased Rich off the rod with as much speed as they dared, then carried him to Cory’s van. 

Rich revived just as they were setting him in the passenger seat, moaning as his Quickening healed him. “Stay put,” Cory told him. “Don’t try to sit up. We’ll be right back.”

Nick knew they were leaving evidence behind, but Cory had brought explosives, and that would have to suffice. They located the vanquished immortal’s body and severed head not far from where Rich had been impaled. Quickly, Nick helped set the charges where Rich had fought the other immortal, hoping that the explosion would help vaporize the evidence. It wasn’t pretty, but given the circumstances, it was necessary. None of them wanted their DNA to be traced to a crime.

Rich looked better by the time Nick and Cory got back to the white panel van. Nick drove carefully away from the scene as the timed charges went off. Deliberately, he drove in a random pattern for several minutes before they abandoned the van in a transit parking lot and switched to Nick’s SUV. Cory had acquired the van some months before, planning to use it for a heist. He didn’t mind sacrificing it now to this cause.

Another twenty minutes of driving brought them back home. Rich was grateful that Cory and Nick had found one on a corner lot with a high privacy fence, with the attached, rear-facing garage accessible via an alley. It meant that he could move into the house proper without being seen with blood staining his shirt. Having two of his closest friends nearby meant that for the moment, Rich could lower his guard and take the time to get cleaned up properly, something he sincerely appreciated as the Quickening – unsettled by the fact that he’d gotten injured as he’d taken it – took its time settling through him.

As he showered, Rich rued his luck. The only way he knew to settle a Quickening this large was through copious amounts of sex. He’d miscalculated the other immortal’s potential power and hadn’t considered his opponent might have enough juice in his Quickening to shove Rich through something as a last-ditch victory of sorts. 

Rich took a breath and tried to settle the Quickening a little more, but being impaled in the process was making the recovery a little difficult. He wanted, no needed, to get laid, and masturbating wasn’t helping. He suspected that if he called for Nick, Nick would relish helping – and they’d be back to the question Rich didn’t want to answer.

_I don’t want to be a pity fuck. I don’t want to be just the thing that Cory does to keep Nick interested; I want to be loved by both of them. And that,_ Rich thought darkly, _is why I’m not going to call for Nick._

With a muttered curse, Rich slammed his hand against the bathtub tile, welcoming the pain as a distraction. Breathing hard, he shut off the water just as the frisson of an approaching immortal combined with the sound of a door opening, followed by footsteps, hit his senses. Swearing, guessing he knew exactly who it was, Rich didn’t bother drawing the waterproof knife he’d stashed out of habit on the inside shelf of the bathtub wall and pulled open the curtain. As he’d expected, he found Nick on the other side, holding a towel.

“Damn, that looks painful,” Nick noted, his eyes taking in Rich’s still-hard cock as he handed over the towel. “Want help with that?”

“Could go to the bar down the street and find someone.” Briskly, Rich stepped out of the tub and dried himself off, abruptly grateful that the bathroom was large enough to fit both him and Nick.

Nick snorted. “Not looking like you are now. You’d scare people.” 

“Wouldn’t be the first time.”

“No, but why wait? Cory’s okay with this, if that’s what you’re worried about.”

Rich hesitated, but the arousal coursing through him made him whimper. 

“Idiot,” Nick said, exasperated. “You need relief. I’m offering, and you know I can take care of you better than any stranger.” 

Hating that he was right, Rich took in a deep breath, then let it out. “Please, Nick.”

Nick kissed him gently, then knelt and took Rich’s cock in his mouth.

Heat, affection, and relief surged through Rich as Nick plied his skill and knowledge of what Rich liked to bring Rich to a shuddering climax. Weak-kneed, Rich leaned against the edge of the tub as Nick rose. 

“Better?” Nick asked.

Rich nodded slowly. He wanted more, but he wasn’t going to ask for it. To have Nick again was a gift in itself, and Rich had learned long ago not to be greedy. He didn’t think he deserved more, not after expending so much effort to stay away. 

Nick looked at him, clearly doubting.

Deliberately, Rich stepped out of the bathroom and busied himself with pulling on clothes to get dressed. “Thanks, Nick.” He didn’t dare look back, knew that whoever he picked up tonight was going to be everything Nick wasn’t, just so that he could pretend they were exactly who he wanted.


	9. Chapter 9

Sitting in the media room where he’d planned to be conveniently out of the way so Nick could be with Rich, Cory heard Rich’s motorcycle roar off into the summer night. A moment later, Nick stepped into the room.

“I take it he said no?” Cory asked carefully.

“He let me take the edge off,” Nick said unhappily. “That’s it.”

Cory rose from the sofa, stepped closer, and rubbed Nick’s shoulders soothingly. “It’s more than I thought he’d allow,” Cory pointed out. “What did he say?”

“Nothing in words,” Nick told him. “But I’m sure in the morning, when he’s burned off that energy, he’ll have convinced himself that I was just being a good friend and you an even better one for understanding.”

Cory half-smiled. “Well, it’s not untrue.”

Nick sighed. “I just hate feeling like this, like there’s nothing I can do. I hate how he’s trying so hard to prove he doesn’t need us. I’m not exactly sure I know what he was thinking by taking on that guy; it scares me to think he might’ve lost. He hasn’t slept in his bed in weeks – I went to change the sheets in his room yesterday before he showed up and realized they had dust on them.”

Cory sighed. “Wondered when you’d notice he’s kept himself away rather than be with us.”

“Damn it, I knew we pushed too hard.”

“That’s not the problem. We haven’t addressed how to get him to stop feeling like he’s settling for something less.”

Nick stared at his lover. “Aw, crap. No wonder he let me take the edge off. He doesn’t think we’re giving him anything other than a stopgap until he finds someone he can love. But it’s not true.” Nick tilted his head slightly as he considered his lover. “You’re really upset he left.”

“I hate seeing him walk away when I know we can give him the home he craves.” 

“Cory. I love you. But you're still trying to pull the wool over my eyes like I wasn’t a detective for ten years. If it were just a home we could give Rich, you wouldn’t be this annoyed. Rich showed up yesterday looking like he hadn’t eaten for weeks and he refused seconds, saying he was watching his weight – something he’s never really done because he usually burns through whatever he eats – and he’s more muscled than I can remember him being. You took a long second look at him, and I’m not sure you liked what you saw.”

“The last time he looked like that, I called him a hungry wolf,” Cory said softly. “And he laughed at me, called me a flirt, and we kept right on being friends. But I remember him telling me then that he was making sure he was ready for being out on the road a while and being in shape to fight. Six months later, I heard he was dead and that Mac was out of his mind with grief. I don’t want Rich to leave, Nick. Not like this.” 

Nick stared. “Are you falling in love with Rich?”

Cory gave his boyfriend a rueful smile. “I hate seeing him sad; it gets to me. Always has – after I met him in 1996, I used to go check on him just to make sure Mac wasn’t making him stuffy. Even did a few jobs with him before he went to Paris that last time before the rumors of his death went flying – Rich wanted a little more cushion so he didn’t have to ask Mac for money. I don’t know if what I feel for him is the kind of love you’re thinking. It’s more…he’s my partner, my friend, and I want him to be happy, preferably with us.”

Nick studied Cory a moment, then kissed him. “We’ll see how it goes.”


	10. Chapter 10

Somehow, Rich wasn’t surprised to find Cory waiting for him when he returned. Dismounting from his motorcycle, Rich pulled off his helmet and faced his friend. “Something you want to say?”

“Feel any better?”

Rich shrugged, aware that Cory would read the answer in his body language. Rich had found someone to ease his Quickening-induced arousal, but he’d walked away less than completely satisfied. Riding around after leaving his conquest’s apartment had helped settle the rest of the Quickening, but Rich still felt vaguely restless. Cory standing in the doorway to the mudroom was just reminding him that he’d left the better choice behind, and Rich suddenly hated himself for it.

He set his helmet on the workbench just to the left of the door into the house, joining Nick’s and Cory’s helmets, then hit the garage door switch to close it. “Your point?”

“Were you trying to prove you were worth something back there at the factory? Because while I’d rather run than fight, I’m still capable of kicking your ass in a sword fight and you know it.”

Rich sighed, irritated. There were times when he thought Cory saw too much because they were too much alike; this was one of them. “I heard you trying to convince Nick not to fight for you. Figured I’d just settle the argument.”

“And how did it feel to discover that Armando was capable of shoving his Quickening at you? You think I don’t know who challenges me, what they’re capable of doing? I’m older than either of the MacLeods, Rich, and you keep forgetting that.”

“It felt wrong, just like the first head I ever took. What do you expect me to say?” Rich shot back. “You’ll excuse me if the way I’m learning what we can do is by taking heads. Seems like everyone older and wiser than me would rather not talk about magic and chi and just how twisted taking heads can make you if you let it.”

“Is that what you’re doing, Rich? Trying to see how much you can take before it kills you or you overload and someone takes you out of the Game?”

“No, damn it. I just…” Rich took a deep breath and met Cory’s eyes. “You and Nick have something beautiful together. I thought I’d do you guys a favor.”

“And if you’d lost?” Cory demanded sharply.

Rich glared at Cory. “Then I’d have died doing something I wanted to do.” He eyed Cory a moment, realizing that the older immortal was truly upset. The last time Rich had seen Cory that upset was when Rich had explained how he’d wound up trapped in a back alley in Boston, fighting for his life. “Look, I’m not going to apologize. I won, period, end of story.”

An odd, almost angry expression flitted across Cory’s face before he composed himself. “Then I’ll ask you this. If the situation had been reversed – if you had to sit on Nick and it was me that was free to fight, would you still feel like you’d done the right thing?”

“Hell yeah. Because one of us has to sit on Nick unless we want his thirst for vengeance unleashed, and having seen it a few times in Paris – he’s pretty single-minded in that goal.”

“Noted. So you’re telling me you thought it was your turn?”

Rich half-smiled. “Seems as good of a reason as any, don’t you think?”

“Not really, no.” 

Those words made Rich stop and look at his sometime partner in crime. “Then what?”

“I think you’ve been trying to hide from us, and that headhunter just made for the perfect excuse. Stop running away from something as solid and real as Nick’s love. It doesn’t change how he feels about me. I love him even more for being someone with a heart big enough for more than one person. You are closer to me than any friend I’ve had in a century. I hate seeing you unhappy; you mean a lot to me. I’d rather see if we can have a triad than watch you be miserable and envious. I don’t want to lose you to that kind of bullshit.” 

Rich stared at Cory, abruptly aware that the older man was serious. Now, Cory was asking him to take their friendship to the next level. Presented like that, Rich couldn’t find a valid argument. Still, Rich hesitated; nothing he’d ever wanted this much had ever come without strings. “I don’t want to fuck up what you have with Nick, and I don’t want to lose my best friends. Let me think it over. It’s late, and right now, I just want to get some sleep.”

Cory nodded and let Rich past. Just as Rich started up the stairs, Cory said, “We have the portable A/C on upstairs in our room if you want to be cooler.”

Rich paused. At nearly four in the morning, the day was already proving that summer had come to the Pacific Northwest with a vengeance, and the forecast was for record-breaking heat. Rich knew that the bedroom he’d been using didn’t get much in the way of cross-ventilation, though it had a ceiling fan. On a morning like this, though, he doubted the fan would be much help.

“Someday, you old thief, I’m going to learn not to bet against you when you hold the cards.”

Cory laughed and followed him up the stairs. With Cory at his back, Rich knew the chance to escape was gone. His heart wasn’t in the attempt, though, and he bypassed the second floor with no regret. As if wanting to be sure Rich had no second thoughts, Cory stopped just before opening the French doors to the master suite.

“I won’t hold it against you if you choose to sleep downstairs, Rich.”

Rich snorted. “I’m not that much of a masochist, Cory.”

Cory smirked. “Could’ve fooled me.” He eyed Rich a moment before adding, “Relax, you know I don’t bite.”

“Not without permission, no you don’t.”

Cory laughed and slung an arm around Rich’s shoulders in a quick hug. Cory opened the door further, revealing Nick, naked and holding a gun pointed in his direction. It was one of the sexiest things Rich had ever seen. “So, does that mean you have a gun in your hand and you’re happy to see me?” Rich joked.

Nick quickly set the safety and put the gun away in the nightstand. “What the hell, Rich?” he demanded. “You’re like a shadow of Cory. Are you doing that disappearing act again? You know I hate when you do that – I can’t tell if it’s you or someone else.”

Rich took in a deep breath. He hadn’t realized he’d automatically pulled in his Presence in his trepidation at taking this step. “Sorry. Just – been a long day. You know how I get when I’m exhausted.”

Nick lifted an eyebrow. “Terrified and paranoid as hell, yeah. You know I won’t do anything you don’t want.”

“I just want to sleep and not have to look over my shoulder.”

“Then get comfortable and let us worry about the rest,” Nick suggested as he sat on the edge of the bed. “There’s room here for you.”

Rich shot him a wary smile and stripped down to his underwear, dumping his clothes in a pile near the door before climbing into bed. Rich took up position in front of Nick, accepting his kiss of welcome. Nick didn’t press for more, a gesture Rich appreciated. Cory spooned Nick, drawing him closer, and Nick’s arms came naturally around Rich.


	11. Chapter 11

Rich woke alone. A glance at the clock on the nightstand told him it was almost noon. He could still feel Cory and Nick’s Presences, which told him they weren’t far. Collecting his stuff, Rich detoured to his bedroom to dump it off and take a shower. Once clean and dressed, he found Nick and Cory in the office. An industrial-power fan kept the room cool as a defense against the computers and other electronics stored in the room. Rich had the day off, but his friends were apparently debating the merits of funding the major local food bank or a local crisis shelter. From the whiteboard they’d installed on one wall, Rich could see a list of other possibilities had been winnowed down to these last two, and Nick was adamant they couldn’t do both.

Rich let himself be caught up in the discussion, relieved to find that there was still no pressure to change the status quo. He even managed to convince Cory that funding both was not to be achieved via Cory’s favorite method of revenue generation, since Rich had no desire to try to pull off a robbery with insufficient planning.

Still, he was acutely conscious that a line had been crossed. Watching Cory and Nick’s love deepen had left Rich floundering, teetering somewhere between happiness and heartache, and knowing that all he had to do was say yes had made it worse. Rich hated feeling as if he had no choice and his first instinct was to run screaming in the other direction. Rich had too many experiences with love going wrong, he didn’t trust that he could ever make it right. Feeling awkward as the day passed into evening, Rich claimed he was craving Peruvian food – something he knew neither Nick nor Cory knew how to make – and headed out. He needed a ride to think.

After making a stop for dinner, Rich rode around Portland. As a native of Seacouver, Rich loved the Pacific Northwest, the way the major cities rose up along the coast and then immediately became rural a certain distance away from the edge of the city limits. He had a soft spot for Paris, for the man he’d become while living there, and for the memories he had of being with Nick, managing the world’s best – and rumored only – pub-on-holy-ground.

That brought Rich’s musings to Cory. Cory had been a constant in his life since the first time they’d met in 1996, one of the few immortals Rich trusted once they’d gotten past their initial disastrous meeting. Rich had been truly shocked at how much explosive had been used, and he’d apologized for it – only to discover that Cory felt the amount had been mostly justified. Then Cory had turned up a few weeks later, wanting his help to pull off a heist, saying that his computer skills weren’t yet up to date. That had also been the only time Cory had made a serious pass at him.

In the years since, Rich had taken for granted that he and Cory were friends, partners, and sometimes sharers of lovers – but that they weren’t lovers themselves. Now, Rich knew he wanted to see if they could be; they’d been everything but so far, and he hoped he was reading Cory correctly.

It was nearly eleven o’clock by the time he returned. The house was still and quiet; all the lights were off downstairs. Jogging up the stairs to his bedroom, he kept his steps light out of habit. He found a note tacked to his bathroom door.

Cory had written, “You’re welcome to sleep upstairs with us. No heat-related excuses necessary; no pressure to do more than sleep.”

Feeling nervous again, Rich shed his gear and showered, then changed into a pair of ragged sweats, cut off to be shorts. Taking a deep breath, he deliberately left his sword and the waterproof knife he used as a backup weapon behind; if he didn’t trust Nick and Cory with his life, he couldn’t trust anyone.

There were fourteen steps up to the master bedroom. When Richie had counted, he wasn’t sure, but the need to know his way around in the dark had never left him, not since he was four years old and given to strangers to raise. He stepped onto the landing before the French doors that led to the master bedroom, and knocked once, holding his breath.

Cory opened the right hand door, eyes narrowing briefly before he allowed Rich into the bedroom. Nick sat in one of the club chairs in the sitting area, a book open.

“Wasn’t sure if you were coming home,” Nick said, looking worried. “You were gone for most of the night.”

Rich shrugged. “Had a lot to think about.” He swallowed hard. “Is the offer to be your lover again still on the table?”

“Idiot, it was never off the table,” Nick growled. “You just needed time. I love Cory, but as he’s pointed out, I haven’t stopped loving you. Come here and kiss me.”

“Something I have to do first,” Rich said apologetically. He turned and kissed Cory, shocking him.

Pulling back, Rich looked into Cory’s eyes. “Just wanted to make sure things between us haven’t changed.”

“No, you scamp, they haven’t.”

Rich studied Cory. “You sure about that? Because you’ve been acting differently. I’ve seen you flirt with other people enough to know when you mean it, and lately, it’s felt like you’ve been disappointed I said no back in March.”

Cory chuckled ruefully. “You and I can wait. Go take care of Nick; he’s been waiting long enough.”

Rich didn’t hesitate any longer. Nick hastily positioned himself on the bed, seeing the intense look on Rich’s face. Rich deliberately made his first kiss gentle, needing to temper the rush of desire streaming through him. Nick kissed him back, arms coming around to stroke, caress, and sometimes scratch. Rich had chosen to forget just what a lover Nick was – sensual, considerate, and meticulous – and he reveled in the mix of memory and new experience as they relearned each other.

Rich felt more than saw Cory join them on the bed. This wasn’t entirely new – the partners he’d shared with Cory had all led up to this moment. What was different was the knowledge that someone they both loved was in the middle. Competition to see who could arouse Nick faster quickly turned to sheer pleasure for all. It wasn’t long before Cory opened a drawer on the nightstand, pulled out a tube of lube, and handed it to Nick.

“Somewhere you want me?” Rich teased Nick.

Nick growled and Rich laughed even as he scrambled to get in position under Nick, spreading his legs so that Nick could sit between them. Leaning up, he kissed Nick deeply before falling back against the bedspread, breaking the kiss. Grabbing a pillow, Rich shoved it under himself. Breathing carefully, painfully aroused, Nick began the process of opening up Rich’s asshole. Rich breathed out, wanting Nick’s cock inside him. Cory was right behind Nick, stroking him, ratcheting up the fire inflaming them all.

It seemed to take forever before Nick slid into Rich’s asshole, and Nick moaned in pleasure at the contact. Rich didn’t want to go slow, not after being turned on this much. Canting his hips and using his feet for leverage, he pulled Nick’s body into him, hard. Nick cried out.

“Easy, Rich,” Cory cautioned, stroking Nick’s back. “I want to be part of this too.” Rich leaned over slightly and saw the lube in Cory’s hand. 

Guessing what his friend wanted, Rich held Nick close. “Stay still, babe.”

“What? Why – oh, God, Cory.” Nick moaned at the feel of Cory’s fingers.

“Breathe out, babe,” Rich advised him a moment later. He watched Nick’s body shudder with pleasure as Cory seated his cock inside Nick. “Now you get the hard part – choosing which way you go first.”

Cautiously, Nick thrust into Rich as Cory waited for the upstroke to thrust into Nick. It didn’t take long for Nick to catch onto the rhythm.

“You like that, babe?” Rich asked, aware that Nick liked dirty talk. “Being in me, having Cory in you?”

“Yes,” Nick replied. “So…much. God!”

“Then take me,” Rich told him. “Come on, babe. Oh, yes, yes.”

He heard Cory’s chuckle, then a gasp as Nick tightened on him, followed by a moan. Soon the three of them were too caught up in trying to reach the heights of ecstasy for words. Worn out by their efforts, Nick fell asleep.

“We gonna talk about you and me?” Rich asked as he and Cory moved to the sofa on the other side of the bedroom so Nick could sleep in relative peace. Both men knew that if they left the room, Nick would wake instantly, something neither of them wanted.

Cory chuckled softly. “Sure.”

“Thought you were just using me in your grand plan to keep Nick happy,” Rich said bluntly. “I don’t want to be your pawn.”

Cory winced. “That was clumsy of me. You mean more to me than that. If that’s all I wanted, I’d have found someone who didn’t matter as much.”

Rich let out a breath he hadn’t realized he’d been holding. “What do you want from me, then, Cory? I’m falling in love with you and it’s messing me up to think you don’t feel the same.”

“Do you want me to put in words what I’ve barely figured out myself? Sometimes I look at you, Rich, and I see me at that same relative age, trying to figure out which way is up and just how big is my world now. Other times – I see the guy who’s become the closest friend I’ve had in a century. I care deeply about you, Richie, and in the last several months, what I feel has deepened.” Cory studied Rich a moment. “Is that why you stayed away? Because you weren’t comfortable around me anymore?”

“Yeah. Wasn’t sure of your motivations, but I was sure that hanging around was just reminding Nick that I’d said no, and knew I was starting to think about you in a way I hadn’t before. Then you stopped flirting with me when I said I was going to date someone – like stone cold, stopped flirting, and it made me wonder because you’ve always flirted with me.”

Cory smiled sheepishly. “Was I that obvious?”

“Like footprints in flour.”

“Am I forgiven?”

“Depends on whether or not you kiss me like you mean it.”

Rich caught a glimpse of Cory’s familiar grin seconds before Cory kissed him. Rich leaned into the kiss, returning its passion, letting the slow burn of desire curl through him. Cory seemed determined to explore what he was feeling, as if he too felt something more than pure lust, and when the older man pulled back at last, his breathing was just as ragged as Rich’s was.

Cory looked a little stunned. “Richie?” he asked hesitantly, deliberately using the name by which he’d first known Rich. “You sure?”

Rich half-laughed, feeling a little stunned as well. “No, but when has that ever stopped me?”

Chuckling, Cory embraced him, and they stayed that way for a few moments before Rich pulled back slightly to kiss him again. This time, there was no hesitation, no holding back. Affection, arousal, and the promise of more were mixing into a potent, heady blend. Rich’s head fell back as Cory nibbled his way down Rich’s throat, and he inhaled sharply as Cory bit carefully at his collarbone before soothing the bite with a lick.

“Knew you were gonna do that,” Rich managed, trying to sound irritated.

Cory chuckled and kissed him. “Oh, like I don’t know you like that,” he reminded Rich softly, and Rich’s eyes widened. For a moment, he’d forgotten how well they knew each other; sharing partners meant they were privy to each other’s secrets that way.

“Two can play that game,” Rich shot back, and pushed Cory back against the sofa. Without preamble, Rich bit and licked Cory’s nipples, causing the older man to moan. That started a round of trying to see who remembered what until both forgot the game in favor of just satisfying the hunger they’d unleashed in each other. Too impatient to find the lube from earlier, as it had been tossed to the side, Cory and Rich settled on a sixty-nine, something they both loved doing.

Caught up in pleasuring each other for the first time, neither noticed that Nick had awoken and was now avidly watching them. Both men climaxed within moments of each other, and Cory quickly shifted position so they could cuddle face to face. For a moment, neither moved, breathing heavily as they lay on the sofa.

Then the sound of a whimper caught their attention. Rich was on top, and he turned his head to see Nick, one hand jammed in his mouth, the other busily working his cock.

In a stage whisper, Rich looked at Cory and said, “Oh no, Nick found us.”

Mirth danced in Cory’s eyes as he looked at Rich and replied, “Oh no. Whatever shall we do?”

With the fluidity that had been a hallmark of their partnership, Rich and Cory moved to attend to their lover. Rich coaxed Nick to remove his hand from his mouth as Cory knelt to put his mouth on Nick’s cock. Then Rich kissed Nick as Cory expertly brought Nick to a climax. Nick’s knees went weak, and Rich hastily tried to brace him. It was a dubious moment before Cory was able to assist.

“You two –” Nick stared at Rich and Cory, looking overwhelmed. “I love you both so much. That didn’t feel like you were putting on a show for my benefit.”

Rich rolled his eyes. “That’s because we weren’t. If we’d been, one of us would’ve remembered where the lube flew off to.”

Nick stared at them before he started chuckling and reached down to pick up the tube from the floor not more than a few feet away from the couch. “There’s always next time,” he teased as he handed the tube to Rich.

Rich laughed. “Oh, is that a request?” he shot back, grinning. The future, he decided, could be debated later. Tomorrow, they’d talk this relationship out, firm up what they wanted, and clarify any niggling questions and concerns; Rich expected and wanted nothing less. For the rest of tonight, he just wanted to reveal in being loved. Judging from the looks on his lovers’ faces, that plan had a high chance of succeeding.


End file.
